ecclesiastes continued

the passage of scripture i posted earlier is so rich in truths that encourage my heart. here are some things i'm taking away from ecclesiastes 3:1-8:

1. every tiny little thing has a time and a purpose.

lately, i've found myself asking "why" a lot more often. i want answers. i want to understand. the bottom line is that God's word is just that: God's word. it doesn't change. it's truth. it's a promise. "there is a season for everything, and a time for every purpose under heaven." there is a reason. always. and because i know that in romans 8:28 God promises that all things work for my good because i love him and i'm called to his will, i can believe and hope in the truth that the reason is for his glory and my sanctification. my "good" isn't my happiness - my "good" is my holiness. i need to remember that.

2. seasons come and go.

seasons in life come and go. grief, joy, contentment, dissatisfaction, anger, planting, harvest, life, death. they come and go, and they come and go often. when one passes, another one comes, and the one that has passed will come around again.

3. it's okay to go through seasons.

tonight i took great comfort in reading the familiar verses of ecclesiastes 3:1-8. it just felt okay to be human, and that's a good place to be. not okay with my sinfulness - not that aspect of my hummanity, but okay with the current condition of my heart: a mess.

4. "a time to break down, and a time to build up."

some times God needs to break us down so he can put us back together. i know this is true, because this has happened repeatedly in my life. i've been thinking of that jimmy needham song "hurricane" all day: "i need you like a hurricane - thunder, crashing wind and rain - to tear my walls down; i'm only your's now." being ripped apart hurts, but fortunately, when i just throw my hands up in surrender, the pain is intertwined with beauty and hope and lots and lots of grace. i can't say i enjoy pain, but i like to feel it. i sound like a massichist. i feel things deeply, and i love that (most of the time). feeling anything makes you feel alive - and i love it. it also reminds me that Jesus is breaking me to make him more like himself. and i'm totally okay with that.

5. "a time to weep, and a time to laugh. a time to mourn, and a time to dance."

it's okay to weep. it's okay to mourn. it's okay to be sad. but it's important to choose the hope that i have in christ. when he says the past is the past and he is doing a new thing, i can claim that and celebrate that. one of my best friends, valerie, always tells me, "rejection is God's protection." when things don't work out, it's okay to grieve those things, but i can rejoice in the truth that God has something better for me in store. it's not just a corny saying - it's the truth found in his word.

6. "a time to gain, and a time to lose. a time to keep, and a time to throw away."

have you ever heard "you gotta know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em"? sometimes i need to know when to let go, and other times God will let go for me - as in he will rip things out of my hands when i am holding too tightly to them. that needs to happen sometimes, and then i need to trust him when he tells me that it was for the best. oh, that darn trust thing.

7. "a time to tear, and a time to sew."

see number 4. kind of the same deal. this verse reminds me of in hosea when it says, "God has torn us, but now he will heal us." sounds to me like the old catchphrase "beauty is pain" is true. if tearing my heart apart makes me more like Christ, then i hope he will break my heart every day.

there's a time and purpose for everything - every season - every person - every moment. and even in the messy parts and the bare seasons and the desert places, our faithful Father promises to make everything beautiful in HIS time (ecclesiastes 3:11).